Author of the article: Anastasia Ivanova Last modified: January 2020 6558
Having a ballot opened due to illness gives a working citizen the right to temporarily stop performing work duties. The document is issued for a fixed period and subsequently presented to the employer. If there are grounds, then extension of sick leave is allowed. However, the period cannot exceed the period established by law. True, there are exceptions when the ballot can be extended, but only by decision of a specially convened commission.
In what cases is sick leave required?
The majority of citizens in the country believe that sick leave can only be issued in case of illness or maternity leave. In fact, this is not the case at all. This provision is regulated by Article 59 of Federal Law No. 323 of November 21, 2011. Citizens have the right to receive sick leave in a number of the following cases:
- during illness;
- when diagnosing an injury;
- during poisoning;
- when undergoing treatment in sanatoriums;
- while caring for a sick family member;
- during quarantine;
- for prosthetics in a hospital;
- during pregnancy and childbirth;
- during the adoption of a child;
- for other conditions that are associated with temporary disability.
In many ways, the length of sick leave is determined by the severity of the citizen’s health condition. The worse he is, the longer the period of temporary disability.
Is it possible to extend sick leave?
You should also understand how sick leave is extended. This can be done by a doctor independently or by a medical commission, depending on the disease. In this case, you need to undergo examination every 15 days. If all permissible periods have been exceeded, and the treatment has not produced results, the patient will be sent for examination to obtain disability. If a patient refuses to go through the commission, his ballot will simply be closed.
The procedure for obtaining the document is quite complicated, and it is easier to buy a sick leave officially.
Legal payment limits
All employees of the organization must be subject to compulsory social insurance. Thus, according to Article 2 No. 255-FZ, the right to receive benefits is granted only to those persons from whom contributions to the Social Insurance Fund are received. According to it, payments will be received within 10 calendar days from the date of application.
Sick leave benefits will be paid according to the period specified therein. To make payment, the sheet must be presented to the company’s HR department.
As a rule, benefits will be assigned within ten days from the date of submission of sick leave. The employer must make all payments on the day the salary is issued.
The amount of payment for sick leave is established in accordance with the employee’s length of service. The employee's average earnings over the last two years are also taken into account. At the same time, the amount of the benefit is also regulated by the insurance experience (SS) of the employee himself:
- less than 6 months - payments are calculated according to the minimum wage;
- up to 5 years – 60% of salary;
- from 5 to 8 years – 80%;
- from 8 years – 100%.
How long can you be sick without sick leave in accordance with the law?
Missing work according to modern standards is called absenteeism. Previously, there was a provision according to which an employee had the right to take three days of absence from work at his own expense. Now this provision has lost force.
Now the employer independently establishes regulations regarding how and for how long an employee can be away from the workplace without issuing a sick leave.
At the same time, the employee retains the right to ask for time off at his own expense if there are valid personal or family circumstances. In the event of the death of a close relative, the employee may also not be at work for several days without receiving a sick leave certificate.
Major diseases with timing
The patient's attending physician has the right to issue sick leave only for a fifteen-day period. Legally, this is the maximum period. But there is a caveat, namely that sick leave can be extended by an additional 15 days by decision of a special medical commission.
It is also worth noting that a dentist or paramedic has the right to issue sick leave only for a ten-day period.
For insured persons
Payments will be made in accordance with sick leave for 40-50 days per year (this provision is regulated by Federal Law-255). If the employment contract is temporary, this period will be 6 months.
It is worth noting here that if a serious illness, such as tuberculosis, is diagnosed, payments will have to be made throughout the employee’s entire treatment. Also, an employee has the right to count on benefits during dismissal (provided that no more than one month has passed from the date of signing the order). Payment will be made within 15 days after the issuance of the MSEC conclusion or receipt of disability.
It is worth noting that the period can be extended to four or five months. As a rule, payments will vary in the amount of 60-100% of wages.
Caring for a sick family member
In case of illness of one of the family members, you can take out sick leave to care for a relative. Such a document can be issued for a period of up to 7 days, and per year it cannot exceed 30 days. When caring for a child with a disability, 120 days of paid sick leave may be allocated per year.
At the legislative level, it is regulated that sick leave can be issued to an able-bodied child care worker. It is worth noting that it can be not only the child’s mother, but also the father and grandparents.
The amount of payments is set at 50% of wages.
Sick leave is paid for the entire period of stay in a medical resort, but it cannot be more than 24 days a year.
How many times a year can you take sick leave?
It’s not enough to understand the duration of sick leave; you also need to know its annual limit. It depends on the specific disease.
| Reason for issuing the document | Total annual limits |
| Infectious and chronic diseases | up to 10 months |
| Tuberculosis, trauma, recovery after surgery | Up to 12 months |
| Illness or injury causing disability | Up to 5 months |
| Child care up to 7 years old | Up to 60 days a year, for certain categories - up to 90 days a year |
| Child care 7-15 years old | Up to 45 days |
| Caring for an HIV-positive minor | No restrictions set |
| Caring for a minor with cancer | No restrictions set |
Special cases
| Reason for issue | Prescribed period | The period for which it can be extended |
| Severe illness and prolonged treatment | 15 days | Can be extended up to 120 days, after which, by decision of the commission, it is additionally increased by 360 days |
| Child's illness | 15 days | Can be extended for up to 7 days after a meeting of the medical commission |
| During quarantine | The period is determined depending on the type of infectious disease | The incubation period of individual bacteria and viruses can be extended to identify them in the employee |
| Pregnancy and childbirth | 140 days | In the case of multiple pregnancy, which was detected during childbirth, the period can be extended by 140 days by the maternity hospital doctor. When using a cesarean section - 156 days. If the birth took place at 28 or 30 weeks - 156 days |
| Treatment in a sanatorium | 15 days | According to legal regulations, the period can be increased by 24 days |
| Dental prosthetics | 10 days | 30 days - can be accepted by a doctor, another 10 days - commission |
| Adoption | 70 days if one child, and 110 if more children were taken | There is no statutory extension of this period. |
| Abortion | 10 days | Can be extended by 30 days by a doctor in case of complications |
| Artificial insemination | Set for the entire time required for the procedure | Cannot be extended by law |
| Ambulatory treatment | 10 days | Additionally for 30 days by the attending physician and another 10 days by a commission of doctors |
| After operation | 10 days | By decision of the attending physician, it can be extended by 24 days. |
Minimum and maximum duration of sick leave
It is important to know how many days a person can be issued a sick leave certificate. The minimum period for this document is not established by law. The doctor makes the decision himself. Theoretically, he can issue a document even for one day, but usually this is impractical, and the therapist issues a bulletin for at least 3 calendar days.
But the law has a clear answer as to what is the maximum period for issuing sick leave at a clinic that can be used in a given case. It all depends on the conditions under which the treatment takes place. If we are talking about outpatient conditions (that is, the patient is treated at home), then the maximum duration is 15 days. Only the medical commission has the right to extend it. Dentists and paramedics can only issue a newsletter for 10 calendar days.
Is a sick leave certificate required for a patient if he is being treated in a hospital? This is another important question. In any case, the document is proof of treatment; no certificates for the employer can replace it. And the treatment period in this case is longer - the document is issued for the entire period of the patient’s stay in the hospital. If we are talking about a serious illness or surgical operation, it is impossible to predict them in advance. There are no maximum periods for inpatient treatment. In this case, for how long a sick leave certificate is issued to the patient depends on the specific disease. For example:
- concussion - up to 28 calendar days;
- removal of the appendix - up to 21 calendar days, depending on the presence of complications and the form of inflammation;
- removal of the gallbladder - up to 55 calendar days, and the doctor has the right to extend the notice for another 10 days for the patient’s rehabilitation;
- fracture of the limbs (depending on the severity and consequences) - from 30 to 60 calendar days;
- oncological diseases - up to 180 days.
Spinal injuries are considered the most serious. In this case, the answer to the question of how long sick leave is issued depends on the severity of the injury and the degree of displacement. Sometimes the total duration is up to 240 days, and after that the ballot can still be extended for a recovery period.
Since the legislation everywhere indicates the duration in calendar days, we can conclude whether weekends are included in the sick leave. This also applies to holidays. That is, benefits are accrued for this period.
What is the maximum number of paid days at the clinic?
If you have a disability form, the first 3 days of sick leave are paid by the employer, and all subsequent days are accrued by the Social Insurance Fund, i.e. the entire period of treatment is paid until you return to work or become disabled.
The exception is those cases when an employee is caring for a sick child or an incapacitated relative, as well as during pregnancy and childbirth (Chapter 5 of Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia No. 624n).
The maximum number of paid care days per year according to the law:
- 120 for disabled children under 18 years of age;
- 60 if the child has not reached the age of 7 years;
- 45 for children aged 7 to 15 years;
- 30 if the child is over 15 years old and is undergoing outpatient treatment;
- 30 in cases of caring for an adult relative deprived of legal capacity.
Terms for issuing sick leave in days during pregnancy and childbirth:
- 140 for a singleton pregnancy (70 days before and the same after birth;
- 156 in the presence of complications (70 days before and 86 after birth);
- 194 for multiple pregnancies (84 days before and 110 after birth).
And if the maximum days are over and the patient has already spent the maximum time on the ballot, what to do next, can you pay for a b/l, for example, over 120 days, when the person continues to be sick?
When all the days provided each year to care for another person have been used, payments stop. Regardless of the circumstances, the limit on sick leave days that can be paid cannot be extended, i.e. the employee will still be entitled to receive a disability certificate, but benefits will not be paid.
Changes for 2020
Before starting calculations, you need to familiarize yourself with the changes and the new calculation formula.
- Minimum wage
The minimum wage is established in accordance with Art. 133 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
That is, the employer does not have the right to pay less than the required minimum, the amount of which as of January 2020 is 9,489 rubles. The minimum wage was increased by 20%.
Important: The exact amount depends on the region. For example, in Moscow the minimum wage is 18,742 rubles.
In what cases are payments less than the minimum wage allowed:
- In addition to salary, there are compensation or incentive payments. If an employee receives a salary, taking into account all additional payments, that exceeds the minimum wage, this is not a violation of the law. That is, the salary may be less than acceptable, but in this case there should be additional payments.
- Part-time work. In accordance with Art. 285 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, payment for part-time work must be proportional to the hours worked and the terms of the employment contract.
- Underemployment. In accordance with Art. 93 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, part-time work is allowed if there are supporting documents: illness or disability of a close relative, pregnancy, etc.
- Billing period. The year 2020 and 2020 are taken, that is, 730 days, in the case of maternity leave - 731.
- Employee income. For 2 years it should be less than 1,473,000 rubles.
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How to open
In order to open a sick leave, you must either personally visit the clinic, and in particular a general practitioner, who has the right to initially issue a sick leave.
In a situation where a citizen is in serious condition and cannot visit the hospital on his own, he has the right to call a doctor to his home, who will issue a sick leave certificate on the day of his visit.
In paper version
The legislator provides the right to issue sick leave in two forms, namely paper and electronic form. The procedure for issuing paper sick leave has already been discussed above. It is necessary to understand in more detail the procedure for issuing electronic documents.
How to open an electronic sick leave certificate
When registering sick leave electronically, the employee is obliged to notify the general practitioner of his/her wish. In this situation, the doctor enters all the necessary information into the electronic database.
Nothing is given to the employee. To receive payments under the slip, an electronic version of the sick leave is sent directly to the employer.
Sick leave for child care, until what age is it granted?
In order to care for a sick child, a sheet can be issued to an adult citizen. It is paid in accordance with the provisions of Russian legislation.
So, if the minor is not yet seven years old, then the certificate must be issued for the entire period of treatment, regardless of the actual number of days. The situation is different with children who are already seven years old, but who have not exceeded fourteen years of age. In this case, the leaflet can be issued only for fifteen days. The exception is cases when a medical examination has established the need for longer treatment.
Children under 18 years of age can be provided with care from their parents in situations where they are recognized as disabled, suffer from the immunodeficiency virus, live in a resettlement zone, etc.
It is worth noting that during a period of illness, not only the mother or father, but also other able-bodied family members, for example, grandparents, brothers or sisters, can look after a child on sick leave.
Calculation of sick leave: fundamental principles and changes in 2020
The calculation of sick leave is based on a number of key rules that every accountant should follow. These include the following:
- Payment for sick leave in 2020 in case of illness or injury is made from 2 sources: the first 3 days are paid from the employer’s funds, the remaining days from the social insurance fund. If sick leave is issued to care for a sick relative, due to quarantine, or the need to undergo rehabilitation in a sanatorium, then it is paid in full from the Social Insurance Fund.
- Calculation of sick leave is carried out on calendar days falling on the full period of illness, with the exception of days when the employee was suspended from official duties and was not entitled to wages for these days. A list of such exceptions can be found in Article 9 of Law No. 255-FZ of December 29, 2006.
- The amount of disability benefits payable is calculated based on the employee’s average salary. This indicator is determined for the previous 2 years. If a person has been working at a given place of work recently, then the data provided by his previous employers is taken into account. To calculate average earnings, the summed salary for 2 years is divided by 730.
- The amount of the benefit is directly related to the length of the insurance period. If it does not exceed 5 years, sick leave is calculated based on 60% of average earnings. For more than 5 years of experience, but not more than 8, the ratio of 80% of the average salary is applied. And finally, with more than 8 years of experience, the amount of sick leave is equal to average earnings. Moreover, starting from the 11th day of sick leave, benefits are accrued in the amount of ½ of the average earnings, no matter how long the insurance period you have.
- The calculation of sick leave in 2020 is based on all payments that were made in favor of the employee and from which the employer transferred insurance premiums for the previous 2 years.
As you can see, the changes in the calculation of sick leave in 2020 are practically insignificant. To illustrate the application of these principles, we will try to show how to calculate sick leave in 2017 using a specific example.
Let’s assume that a certain Marina Nikolaevna Ivanova, having 7 years of insurance experience, fell ill between January 16 and January 25, 2020. Accordingly, based on the above rules, to calculate average earnings we need the period 2020 and 2020. According to accounting data, her total salary for 2020 was 480,000 rubles, and for 2020 - 520,000 rubles. Thus, over the previous 2 years she earned a total of 1,000,000 rubles. Please note that this amount takes into account all payments in favor of M.N. Ivanova, for which the company where she works transferred insurance contributions to extra-budgetary funds.
So, the average earnings of Ivanova M.N. is 1,369.86 rubles (1,000,000/730). Considering that her insurance experience is more than 5 but less than 8 years, we use a coefficient of 0.8 (80%). Thus, to calculate benefits for 10 calendar days of sick leave, average earnings are used at the rate of 1,095.89 rubles. (RUB 1,369.86 x 80%). Accordingly, payment of sick leave to Ivanova M.N. will be 10,958.90 rubles. (RUB 1,095.89 x 10 calendar days).
It is very convenient to use a free online calculator for calculating patients, which is offered by various services on the Internet. By entering the information necessary for the calculation, within a few seconds you will receive a calculation of the benefit amount in accordance with all current rules and restrictions, as well as links to legislative acts.
Fake sick leave: consequences
No matter how serious the condition, it is better to call a doctor or visit a clinic.
If your documents start being checked, which is quite natural, then you may have serious problems.
The following situations often occur: accountants notice inaccuracies in a document, and in order to correct them, they contact the clinic where the document was issued.
If the document is official, the problem is resolved; otherwise, it is sent to the FSS, then to the prosecutor’s office, where a criminal case is initiated.
Part 3 of Article 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation states that the use of false documents is punishable by criminal liability.
If there are circumstances mitigating the sentence, you can get off with a fine. An employer has every right to fire someone for absenteeism.
In some cases, it is possible to reach an agreement and an administrative leave is issued.
In cases where it is problematic to get sick leave, try to talk openly with the employer and solve the problem without buying fake documents.
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Calculation example
The total amount of the employee’s salary for the last two years is 860 thousand rubles. In this case, the work experience reaches 9 years and sick leave is issued for 10 days. In this case, the payment amount will be:
860,000 / 730 x 10 x 1 = 11,780.82 rubles.
The amount calculated for sick leave is paid after the employee returns to the workplace at the next salary payment. Personal income tax will be withheld from this amount.
In addition, it is worth considering the following nuances when calculating sick leave in 2020:
- If the injury was sustained at work or the employee suffered an occupational disease, then the sick leave payment will be 270 thousand rubles
- If an employee falls ill during vacation, he must contact a medical facility. In this case, sick leave will be open from the first day of going to work or transferred to another day in agreement with the employer
- Sick leave for pregnancy or child care is paid exclusively from the Social Insurance Fund. In this case, the duration of sick leave is regulated at the legislative level.
- If an employee is a part-time worker and works in several companies at once, then he will be able to apply for sick leave in each organization
- If the time interval between the termination of the employment contract and the employee’s illness is less than 30 days, then sick leave is issued with K 0.6 of the average salary at the corresponding place of work.
Payment of sick leave next year is carried out at the expense of the employer and funds from the Social Insurance Fund. To register, you will need to contact a medical institution and obtain the appropriate certificate. When calculating the payment, the following parameters are taken into account:
- total income for the last two years
- number of days on sick leave
- work experience
